Spray Education Perfect For A Rainy Day

More than 60 people took advantage of a day of heavy rainfall across the region to attend WMG’s Spray Workshop on 8 August.

The Badgingarra Research Station proved to be an ideal location to catch up the latest spraying information, equipment and technology, despite more than 40mm of rainfall soaking the Badgingarra and Dandaragan districts.

WMG research agronomist Dr Nathan Craig said the event focused on increasing awareness that weed control is more than just sprayers and nozzles; it was using all the tools and application methods available to successfully control weeds.

“There are such a wide range of chemical application methods and weed control strategies being used these days, but it is important to get the basics right to ensure that weed control is maximised,” Dr Craig said. “Farm managers and spraying operators must be on the same page when it comes to effective weed control, as general assumptions can lead to costly mistakes.”

Peter Newman from the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) provided an insight into the benefits of using chafflining as an alternative to windrow burning. Peter said dropping chaff on the same line every year has been proving to be an extremely effective way of reducing weed seeds in the crop, and solved some of the issues with achieving a good windrow burn. Chafflining is one of the lower cost forms of harvest weed control, and can be a relatively easy first step in a more integrated weed management strategy.

SACOA regional manager Damon Fleay gave the take home message for farmers to check where liquid fertiliser was being placed in the soil relative to seed placement at seeding. Mr Fleay said that SACOA trial work had highlighted that the liquid stream needed to be within two to three centimetres of the seed to give effective benefit from the in-furrow chemicals being applied.

The event was rounded out by displays of range top selling and new release equipment by AFGRI and McIntosh & Son, and Rabobank kindly catered for the sundowner after the event.